14th ZeGeVege Festival
The 23rd of September is the first day of autumn and the first day of a two-day celebration of sustainable living and veganism
The 14th ZeGeVege Festival of sustainable living is taking place on Friday, the 23rd of September from 8 am to 9pm, and on Saturday, the 24th, from 8 am to 8 pm at the central square of Ban Jelačić in Zagreb. Organizers of this exceptional event that has attracted dozens of thousands of visitors over the years, the non-profit association Animal Friends Croatia, will play host again to numerous restaurants, exhibitors of plant food and cruelty-free cosmetics, animal, and environmental protection groups, in a wholesome all-day program enriched with opportunities for degustation and product promotion.
Thanks to the educational tone of the festival on the importance of sustainable living, making it an important event for the Republic of Croatia and the city of Zagreb, President Zoran Milanović, Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, a representative of the Croatian Government, and other dignitaries have already announced their participation.
Alongside home-made dishes, pea protein burgers, plant-based cheeses and a variety of plant-based milk, ZeGeVege Festival will also offer an opportunity to taste fermented ciabatta with vegan ham, various Asian and Indian specialties, tasty warm stews, as well as barley kebabs on a bed of pitta bread with onions, falafel and pasta with soy bolognese sauce. Other points of interest may be Indian banana beer, sweet onion jam, vegan honey, raw cakes, hazelnut spread and sweet potato chocolate spread. Some exhibitors will even be offering edible spoons and straws! All food items on offer at the ZeGeVege Festival are exclusively plant-based with the intention to educate.
One thing is for certain: no one will be leaving the Festival empty-handed or hungry, nor without information on the advantages of a vegan lifestyle that values sustainability and compassion towards all creatures with which we share our planet. Long-term activists, chefs, nutritionists, sportspersons, and others will take their turn on the stage to share how to use our limited natural resources reasonably and reduce our carbon footprint, while brochures with recipes and useful advice created for the purpose of this Festival will also be distributed to those in attendance.
Information boards will offer information on the importance of the food industry to switch to a healthier, more sustainable and fairer system, while the youngest visitors will be able to play and participate in creative workshops in Kids’ Corner. The ZeGeVege Festival, which uses a recycling yard set up for the occasion for all waste disposal, will also be a venue to present the new communal waste collection model that is currently being introduced in the city of Zagreb.
The installation “Veggie Shop-Window” will display popular plant-based replacements for meat, eggs, milk, and other animal by-products available in shops across Croatia for the few who still believe that vegans eat only side dishes and grass. The installation will be an opportunity for visitors to see the exact items they may want to include in their next weekly shop, hopefully, inspired by the entire atmosphere of the event and the information that ZeGeVege has to offer to encourage a positive life change.
Once again, Animal Friends Croatia invites the public to join in the two-day celebration of compassion and veganism: “Everyone is welcome because every step towards sustainability matters. Taste the food, speak with the exhibitors, listen to the educational program, and feel the positive vibes of Croatian Veganmania. See you there!”
The full program listing of all exhibitors, performers and speakers and their schedule is available from www.zegevege.com.
Click here for a photo gallery.